23rd Aug 2013, 11:41

I enjoy your personalized responses. The reason I don't drive my 22 foot Mercury to work is obvious: my job is 35 miles away each way and for one, the Merc gets maybe 12-15 MPG. Strike one.

Two, these old cars lack real safety features. If I got in a wreck I would likely ricochet inside the cab or worse - the whole front end would crumple and the engine would shoot into the driver's seat. So strike 2.

The Tacoma gets 25-27 MPG. So while not horrible, it is nowhere close to the 45+ MPG the Prius gets. That and the truck has a lot of miles on it at this point and I have no plans on selling it, but instead use it as a hauler. So I'll wear out the Prius.

The Mercury is meant to be drive around town and to thumb noses at people who own cars that aren't really classics - like late 70's Lincolns for example.

24th Aug 2013, 10:33

My '77 Grand Prix got plenty of thumbs up and comments due to its distinctive and beautiful styling. A true Pontiac classic indeed.

As far as safety and fuel mileage, these are not the reason most people drive classics. I drove my GP on a 6 hour round trip once, just because I could.

24th Aug 2013, 11:35

I am at August Carlisle today with over 5000 Corvettes; most drove in from all over the USA, and I stayed overnight at a hotel with ones from Ontario.

Great reliable classics can be driven great distances. Many have Tremec transmissions that increase economy.

The 2014 Vettes have 7 speed manual trans, so the cars barely idle at the national speed limits today.

There are great new and old cars that should be driven and are. I hate driving plain Jane beaters, except to shop at malls where I could care less if my doors get dinged.

25th Aug 2013, 21:41

The car that turns my nose and stomach with its styling is a Prius. If I had to go to grad school to easily afford a nicer vehicle without gas woes, so be it. I took a transfer to a better cost of living area, and came out better overall.

26th Aug 2013, 11:42

I'm not sure what 2014 Corvettes have to do with this thread. Basically nothing. Sure - I have no problem driving my Merc and I've taken it on trips. But I wouldn't drive it to work every day. I did that for years because I only had to go 5 miles. But now that's impractical.

Not sure where everyone's from, but I live in Cali and there's a ton of old cars here due to the weather not rusting them out. So there's quite a few 70's cars still out there, and in general they get just so-so attention. I think they've got another 5-10 years before people start to really consider them attention. Sometimes I'll go to an old car show and something like a '78 Chevy Caprice will be sitting there, and people look at it as if why is it here? All old cars eventually become classics anyway.

As far as whether you like the way a Prius looks or not, is like me saying I can't stand the way a Buick Lacrosse looks. Same difference. Doesn't mean either one of us are right or wrong. To each their own.

26th Aug 2013, 12:01

Wrong decade man. The late-1970s Lincolns are totally classics, they are the last of the unabashed Continentals. The 1980s Lincolns and newer aren't really classics, as there are still so many of them on the road. One day though...

27th Aug 2013, 08:11

The 5000 Corvette comment was that 5000 Corvettes from the 50s, 60s, and 70s etc were private owned cars driven from every part of the country. So old cars are certainly quite capable of being driven.

As far as 2014, I sat in 3. There is a waiting list on them. People in good climates drive classics to work. Especially convertibles.

Lastly, to be making payments for 5 or 6 years on a hideous design has to be very depressing. I agree there are some ugly domestics, but I am not paying for any to save a nickle a gallon. It's kind of pointless to critique a Lincoln while driving a 4 door Mercury, wouldn't you agree?

27th Aug 2013, 10:17

I beg to differ. Show up at any of our car shows with some 70's Lincoln and you might get a few lookie-loos, but simply put... they aren't old enough. Sorry.

28th Aug 2013, 16:13

Living in south FL., there are also many cars from the 70's on the road in great shape, but we do get a lot of rain, so rust can be a problem.

There are also a lot of car shows here with plenty of 70's Ford and GM cars that get the attention that they deserve. My '77 Grand Prix was not show car quality, but yet it did get attention at few of the local shows I brought it to, let alone every time I drove it.

Not everyone wants to see the same old Corvettes, Mustangs and Camaros that most car shows are infested with.

29th Aug 2013, 07:50

The new Tacoma gets up to 25 MPG, if you buy and want to drive a 4 cylinder and shift gears. It's certainly not very aerodynamic. If you buy the 6, the MPG is less. I rent a lot of luxury car sedan specials, and can easily attain that on the highway today. I also like weekend specials.

My thoughts on a long trip; if a problem were to occur, you don't have to wait around to have a car fixed 1000 miles away. You get another right away. And it's not expensive to do weekend specials and try some new ones out. I took a new low mileage Enterprise rental Impala on a trip from the east coast to Ohio, and we were not tired and it was very comfortable. MPG was great, all highway.

2013 larger cars get very respectable MPG, that was unheard of 20 years ago. I drive a lot, and feel better and perform better at work, and am relaxed when I get home and not worn out. There is value to one's quality of life vs sacrificing and saving a few bucks at a gas pump. My uncle dropped dead at 56, scrimping on absolutely everything to save an extra buck for retirement. He had already paid his home and everything off. He did long daily work commutes in little cars, most without A/C, and spent little on anything. When he got home, he was tired and slept. I wish he'd had some fun, and so do my cousins today. That reality sank in on what we work hard for. I feel it makes me appreciate enjoying some of the money that I have earned, because you can't count all of it in a cemetery. If I have to spend 100 a month more on fuel, to me it's worth far more than that for the quality of life attained. There are many very comfortable, nicely optioned, larger cars that do get great MPG today. When you get out, you feel good and also enjoy the fruits of your labor.